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Religious Education
Journeys

Joseph Sr. and Lucy Smith Log Home: Palmyra, New York

Swathed in the rustic smells of old pine wood, take a journey through time in the beautiful Smith Family Log Home.

Joseph Smith Sr. Log Home

Video Transcript

Abstract

During the time that the Prophet Joseph Smith lived in the family log home in Palmyra, New York, events transpired that greatly influenced the young boy and prepared the way for the restoration of the gospel. Remembrances from the Smith family reveal their concerns and activities while living in the log home. Significantly, the Smith family lived in this log home during the time of the First Vision and visits from the angel Moroni informing Joseph, Jr., regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon on the night of September 21-22, 1823.

Interesting Facts

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“We had a snug log-house, neatly furnished, and the means of living comfortably.”
(Lucy Mack Smith, Lucy’s Book, 321)

  • Joseph Sr. and his wife, Lucy, resided in their Palmyra log home with their nine children possibly from as early as the winter of 1817-1818 until they built and then moved to the larger frame home to the south in 1825. Lucy reported that “in two years from the time we entered Palmyra strangers, destitute of friends, home, or employment, we were able to settle ourselves upon our own land, [in a] snug and comfortable, though humble, habitation, built and neatly furnished by our own industry.”
  • In November 1826, Hyrum and his new bride, Jerusha Barden, moved here and lived in the old family log home until the fall of 1830.
  • In April 1829, the Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy, along with their younger children, moved back into the original log home to live with Hyrum, Jerusha, and their two small daughters.
  • This log home, built on the site of the original, is a replica of the Joseph Smith Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith family home.
  • As suggested in the reconstruction of the Smith log home, most likely, a large upstairs bed room was framed for the sons in the Smith family: Alvin, Hyrum, Joseph, Samuel, William, and Don Carlos. A smaller back bedroom was for Sophronia and Catherine. Possibly, the youngest daughter, Lucy, stayed in the downstairs room off of her parents’ bedroom.